Children Laws
Probably one of the oddest set of laws imposed by the Sons and Daughters of Heaven when they began ruling the Empire was what became known as the Children Laws. In order to ensure both the growth of the population, satisfaction of the population and a proper education for all, the second and third Mikado drafted these laws and had them imposed over the territory. A vast group of laws, almost comparable to some of the sections of the legal code in regards to trade and warfare, this put the Imperial authority on the good side of a vast majority of the peasants and members of the other castes. Over the years, the complexity of these laws led the Bureaucracy to create a sub-Ministry known as the Ministry of Family to take care of the issues that emerge. The laws are split in many sections, but we will cover a few together. One of the first pieces of legislation was in regards to child labor, which did anger some but overall generated positive results throughout the Empire. No children under the age of 13 is allowed to work for a wage or be forced to work by his parents, as this would negatively impact their development. Children are encouraged, of course, to do chores around the house and other light, non-remunerated work for their parent as usual, but serious work in the field, taking care of animals or working for an overseer is considered illegal, with sanctions going up to the removal of the children from the abusive parents. Another law covers the necessity for education for all people. While members of the higher castes have access to a variety of sensei and schools, this right to education goes all the way down to the peasant caste as well, with the Onmyou and Ministry of History taking care of the schools in most locales. Education is obligatory until the age of 13 for all members of any caste and this basic education is more or less standardized, even though the end result is not. This education covers the basics of reading, writing, mathematics, biological sciences and natural sciences, as well as history, giving the youth a good background they can build upon in the future. Pupils from the lower castes which display fantastic achievements in this matter are often given grants to go study at higher levels to be able to try out to join the Bureaucracy or to integrate in the Merchant caste. The final important piece of legislation in this regard is the Mandatory Early Childhood Care Act. This strange law actually enshrines into the Imperial code of law that mothers and father have to take care of their child for a short period of time in order to properly create the bonds between the parents and the children. This law is probably the most controversial of the lot, especially for the lower castes of the Empire. To properly care for their newborn child, mothers are granted a one year period where they are not required to pay taxes and are usually paid a stipend to compensate for the fact that they are not working. This stipend is calculated according to the regular workload of the woman, which means merchant caste women and bureaucrats usually receive fairly generous stipend while peasant receive enough to cover for their lack of working on the farm or in the manufacture. Fathers are granted usually one or three months (depending on their type of work), but are granted tax exemptions in regards to their children as well. Category:Background Category:Legal Category:Culture